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12-12-2008, 11:31 PM
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 How much impact will the governor's troubles have on President-elect Obama? Probably not much. ... It was ... fortunate for Obama that the story broke after the presidential election. The campaign of Sen. John McCain, who made a crack during one of the debates about not taking ethical advice from a "Chicago politician," might well have gone wild with guilt by association. But from Chicago's point of view, Obama and Blagojevich occupy two opposing worlds of Democratic politics that work together out of convenience. Obama launched his political career among the Hyde Park and lakefront liberals. Blago came straight out of what's left of the old Bungalow Belt machine. It is not uncommon to build a winning coalition in Illinois politics by making friends or, at least, neutralizing rivals. Blagojevich, Obama: Parallel worlds Clarence Page December 10, 2008 A network news producer based in New York wanted to get my reaction to the arrest of Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Except she had a problem. She was reading the criminal complaint as she was talking to me. She couldn't stop gasping. "I'm sorry," she said. "This is . . . unbelievable!" That's OK, I assured her. "Take your time. I'm a Chicago journalist. I am accustomed to the unbelievable." That's why I came to Chicago several decades ago. It was a great news town. I arrived, for example, about the time Paul Powell, a former Illinois secretary of state, was found after his death in 1970 to have had more than three-quarters of a million dollars in cash stuffed in a shoebox and other containers in Powell's St. Nicholas Hotel room in Springfield. Our immediate past governor, Republican George Ryan, is serving a 6 1/2-year stretch in federal prison for fraud and racketeering. We've had years of scandalous headlines tied to Blagojevich and his associates. The stories include 13 indictments or convictions on charges related to illegal kickbacks, sweetheart contract deals and shady hiring practices. So there was a sense of the other shoe dropping when the feds came for the governor Tuesday. I was shocked not so much by the allegations of criminal conduct against "Blago" as by the bold audacity in the details, including his absence of any sensible realization that he might get caught. U.S. Atty. Patrick J. Fitzgerald, bolstering his reputation as a modern-day Eliot Ness, says the governor treated his office like his personal ATM. Allegations, according to the indictment, include conspiracy to sell President-elect Barack Obama's former Senate seat to the highest bidder. He hoped to parlay the offer into a possible ambassador's post, a secretary of health and human services appointment or some high-paying job in a non-profit or an organization connected to labor unions. Blagojevich also tried to gain promises of money for his campaign fund, they said, and suggested that his wife could be placed on corporate boards where she might earn a lot of money. But I almost spit out my morning coffee while reading the 76-page criminal complaint when I saw that Blagojevich allegedly tried to shake down owners of the Chicago Tribune. In exchange for state assistance with the sale of the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field, according to Fitzgerald, Blagojevich wanted members of the Tribune's editorial board who had criticized him to be fired. Even the long chain of scandalous stories, scathing editorials and a record low approval rating of 13 percent in a recent Tribune poll barely slowed the governor down. Most of the allegations occurred in the past few months, as if almost four years of known federal scrutiny actually had made him more flamboyant in his excesses. How much impact will the governor's troubles have on President-elect Obama? Probably not much. Fitzgerald did Obama the large favor by noting at a news conference that, "We make no allegations that he [Obama] was aware of anything." It was also fortunate for Obama that the story broke after the presidential election. The campaign of Sen. John McCain, who made a crack during one of the debates about not taking ethical advice from a "Chicago politician," might well have gone wild with guilt by association. But from Chicago's point of view, Obama and Blagojevich occupy two opposing worlds of Democratic politics that work together out of convenience. Obama launched his political career among the Hyde Park and lakefront liberals. Blago came straight out of what's left of the old Bungalow Belt machine. It is not uncommon to build a winning coalition in Illinois politics by making friends or, at least, neutralizing rivals. Blagojevich's troubles will test how well Obama kept his own hands clean on his way up, even as Blago was slipping down. Clarence Page is a member of the Tribune's editorial board. Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune |
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12-13-2008, 02:17 AM
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12-14-2008, 04:18 AM
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 Jesse Jackson Jr.: 'I want my name back' Story Highlights
CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) - U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. said Friday that he was fighting to get "my name back" after he was identified as "Senate Candidate 5" in a criminal complaint against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.  Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. says neither he nor any emissaries offered favors in exchange for a Senate appointment. Jackson, the son of famed civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and a six-term Democratic congressman from Chicago, had publicly sought to succeed President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. Jackson had talked to Blagojevich, the person with the sole power to make the appointment, on Monday, just one day before federal agents arrested the Illinois governor. Jackson said he only presented his credentials and polling information that suggests he could win re-election in 2010. Jackson said he had fought corruption "since day one" but said he could not serve as Illinois senator until his name was cleared in the public eye. "While I would be honored to serve the people of this state, it is clear to me that I am no capacity to serve them if there is a cloud over my head that seems to suggest that I am involved in some unscrupulous scheme to be a United States senator or anything else," Jackson told CNN's Don Lemon. Prosecutors accuse Blagojevich of selling the Senate seat in exchange for campaign contributions and other favors. However, they did not accuse Jackson or any of the other candidates referred to in the complaint of wrongdoing. Jackson denied participating in the "pay to play" politics that Blagojevich is accused of in a federal criminal complaint. Jackson also said he was eager to talk to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald about his role. "When it's over, I want every [sp] to know that I want my name back. ... I'm fighting now for my character, and I'm also fighting for my life," he said. "This is about my children being able to Google their name in five years and there be nothing there associated with them that suggests anything wrong." Jackson said he does not understand why Blagojevich believed he would trade favors in exchange for an appointment to the Senate, saying he had "nothing to offer but my record of public service." He also said he did not send an emissary -- including his father or his brother, Jonathan -- to Blagojevich offering favors. "When the facts become clear ... I think the American people will recognize that the governor of our state is a little different," he said. Jackson said believed that it was wrong for politicians to believe they can gain personally as a result of holding public office. "I think that there is a disconnect between public service and private sacrifice. ... If for one moment you think that public service is also private gain, then you are trampling on very, very unsteady ground that is likely to force you and good people with good names in a very different process," he said. © 2008 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
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12-14-2008, 07:56 PM
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  December 14, 2008 Illinois governor may step aside Monday, (Ill. Attorney General) says Posted: 12:06 PM ET  Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan asked the state Supreme Court to temporarily remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich (CNN) — Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said Sunday that embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich may step aside on Monday. "We have heard that there is a possibility that tomorrow he will make an announcement that he will step aside," Madigan told NBC's "Meet the Press." She added, "I don't know if that means he will resign or take another option that's provided under the Illinois constitution where he can voluntarily recognize that there is serious impediment to his ability to carry out his duties and, therefore, temporarily remove himself." Blagojevich did not immediately respond to calls from CNN Sunday. The governor was arrested Tuesday, after federal prosecutors accused the him of trying to "sell" President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat by pressuring possible candidates to provide campaign contributions and other favors. Illinois law gives the governor the sole power to appointment interim senators. Blagojevich's arrest has thrown Illinois politics into chaos, and many of the state's political leaders — and Obama — have called on the governor to resign. On Friday, Madigan petitioned the state Supreme Court to temporarily remove Blagojevich from office or, at least, strip him of some of his authority, arguing that Blagojevich was "disabled" and cannot carry out the functions of his office. "We are not looking to try to convict him criminally with the pleadings that we brought to the Illinois Supreme Court," Madigan said Sunday. "We're simply recognizing that these are extraordinary, unprecedented circumstances and that we need to have a governor who can actually use the powers of that office and govern our state or else our state becomes paralyzed." "There is also this serious concern that absolutely everything that he does from here on out is going to be tainted. It's going to be illegitimate," she added. "And so we think it is absolutely obvious that he is incapable of governing and the best thing to do is to move aside." If Blagojevich does resign, or if the Supreme Court removes him from office, Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn would become acting governor. On Sunday, Quinn again called on the governor to leave office voluntarily. "I hope the governor does resign," Quinn said. "I think that is best for the people of Illinois as well as himself and his family. … He obviously needs to do something because our state is in crisis." © 2008 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. |
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12-15-2008, 08:00 PM
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 Resignation Is Rumored; Response Is a Firm ‘No’ By SUSAN SAULNY Published: December 14, 2008 CHICAGO — Talk about mixed messages. Not long after the Illinois attorney general, Lisa Madigan, told a national television audience that Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was thinking of possibly resigning here on Monday, the governor’s spokesman broke some news of his own. Not only was Mr. Blagojevich not resigning, the spokesman, Lucio Guerrero, said, but he was planning to go to work on Monday and study a few bills that might at some point require either his signature or veto — including one that will be hammered out in a special legislative session in Springfield that would strip him of his coveted appointment power over President-elect Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat. “He has no plans of resigning today or tomorrow,” Mr. Guerrero said on Sunday. “He still signs bills as governor, and he wants to see details.” The empty Senate seat is at the heart of a sprawling criminal case against Mr. Blagojevich, a 52-year-old Democrat who was arrested Tuesday on charges that he schemed to trade Mr. Obama’s old seat for money and favors. Ms. Madigan is a longtime rival of Mr. Blagojevich who has expressed interest in the past of one day being governor herself, and she has requested that the State Supreme Court declare the governor unfit for office. Ms. Madigan acknowledged on CBS’s morning news show, “Face the Nation,” that her assertion was based on “rumors in the media.” But not before they set off a firestorm of speculation. Her spokeswoman, Robyn Ziegler, said of her remarks after the television appearance: “She has no inside information about anything.” The rumor began swirling here over the weekend after The Chicago Sun-Times published an article saying that someone close to the governor said he might make a decision about resignation as early as Monday. Mr. Guerrero denied it then and now. The back-and-forth over such a serious case has become more like comedy. The governor’s every move is scrutinized — Where is his car parked? Why is he making strange faces on his porch? — in an effort to predict the future of state government. In the absence of any official statements or appearances by Mr. Blagojevich, the public and journalists are making do with what little they have. “It’s like tail-chasing,” said Cindi Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. “Part of it is that there are so many unprecedenteds at the same time. So everybody’s playing with a rule book they’ve never seen before, and at the center of all this is a governor who is not known for rational behavior. So any story just suddenly becomes like sky-writing. ‘Oh, he’s leaving! Oh, he’s staying!’ “Really, nobody knows what the next step is,” she said, adding that it may well be resignation on Monday. Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company |
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12-15-2008, 08:12 PM
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“What I’ve discovered since I’ve been governor is that there’s a certain loneliness to this job,” [Illinois Gov. R. R. Blagojevich] said in an interview. “There’s a loneliness and a certain sadness because you have to isolate yourself to some extent. There are so many people who want so many different things from you.” Two Sides of a Troubled Governor, Sinking Deeper By MONICA DAVEY Published: December 14, 2008 CHICAGO — Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich is a polished speaker who can win over elderly women at luncheons in southern Illinois with his earnest attention and eloquently recite historical anecdotes from the lives of the leaders he says he most admires — Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Robert F. Kennedy, Alexander Hamilton, Ronald Reagan.  Tannen Maury/European Pressphoto Agency Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich with Senator John Kerry on the campaign trail for the Democratic presidential nomination in March 2004. Mr. Blagojevich had his own White House ambitions. And yet, Mr. Blagojevich, 52, rarely turns up for work at his official state office in Chicago, former employees say, is unapologetically late to almost everything, and can treat employees with disdain, cursing and erupting in fury for failings as mundane as neglecting to have at hand at all times his preferred black Paul Mitchell hairbrush. He calls the brush “the football,” an allusion to the “nuclear football,” or the bomb codes never to be out of reach of a president. In 1996, John Fritchey, a Democrat who shared a campaign office with Mr. Blagojevich, was told that his stepfather had suffered a serious stroke. He walked over to Mr. Blagojevich, who was making fund-raising calls, and shared the news. “He proceeded to tell me that he was sorry, and then, in the next breath, he asked me if I could talk to my family about contributing money to his campaign,” recalled Mr. Fritchey, now a state representative and a critic of the governor. “To do that, and in such a nonchalant manner, didn’t strike me as something a normal person would do.” Yet even political figures like Mr. Fritchey say they were stunned by his arrest last week on charges of conspiracy and soliciting bribes. Many who know the governor well say that as Mr. Blagojevich’s famed fund-raising capability seemed to have shrunk in recent months and as his legal bills mounted after years of federal investigation, he appeared to have evolved from what Mr. Fritchey considered callous into something closer to panicked or delusional. “It’s hard to imagine what could have been going through his head for this to reach such a brazen point,” Mr. Fritchey said. “The irony is, had he simply delivered on the promises on which he campaigned rather than pursuing his belief that success would come through an abundance of fund-raising, his path might look like he wanted it to.” Now, officials at all levels are calling for his resignation or impeachment. And the public image he had cultivated as an agent of change in Illinois has been subsumed by the stories about his conduct in private. Today, he barely has an ally in sight. Long before this, he disagreed over a casino with Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago; he irked Michael Madigan, the powerful Democratic state speaker, over the budget; and he infuriated just about every legislator by staying put in Chicago (rather than moving his family to the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield). His penchant for promoting his headline-grabbing proposals — like those for universal preschool and cheaper drugs from Canada — on television, rather than in the quieter halls of Springfield, also won him no friends. “Rod reveled in fighting with members of the General Assembly,” said Representative Tom Cross, the state Republican leader. “He came out of the box fighting: He was the populist, and we were the big, bad General Assembly. He didn’t seem interested in policy, the budget was in disarray, and he was never there.” Neither Mr. Blagojevich’s spokesman nor his lawyer, who has said that Mr. Blagojevich feels that he is innocent of the charges against him, would consent to be interviewed. Whatever else may have come apart within Mr. Blagojevich in recent months, one quality, unabashed ambition, has been a constant, his colleagues and his critics say. Even with approval ratings that had sunk to 13 percent as details of the federal investigation into his administration had seeped out over the past three years, Mr. Blagojevich, incredulous prosecutors say, still spoke in his recorded conversations in the past six weeks of the possibility of remaking his political future and running for president, perhaps in 2016. That aspiration was nothing new. At points in early 2004, Mr. Blagojevich appeared with Senator John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate, at a community center in Evanston and a junior high school in Quincy. Mr. Blagojevich seemed confident, said two former employees, who refused to be named out of concern that their comments could jeopardize their current work, that he would soon be selected as Mr. Kerry’s running mate. (An aide to Mr. Kerry’s campaign says he was never under consideration.) At the time, there seemed only one problem: Mr. Blagojevich was uncertain he wanted to be a No. 2. Mr. Blagojevich rose to power from unlikely roots. His father was a steelworker from Serbia and his mother collected tickets for the Chicago Transit Authority. Mr. Blagojevich graduated from Northwestern University, and received his law degree from Pepperdine University, working to help pay for it. Back in Chicago, he worked briefly as an assistant prosecutor under Mr. Daley, who was then the Cook County state’s attorney. But Mr. Blagojevich’s political career may have been sealed the day he met his future wife, Patti Mell, at a fund-raiser in 1988 for her father, Richard Mell, a ward chief on the Northwest Side and a powerful alderman for more than three decades. Three years later, he was doing precinct work for Mr. Mell, and not long after, Mr. Mell suggested that he run for state representative — with the help of Mr. Mell’s vast ward operation. Mr. Blagojevich spent four years in the State House, six years in the United States House of Representatives, and then, in 2002, he ran for governor. The moment could not have been more welcoming for a Democrat. Gov. George Ryan, a Republican who was by then engulfed in a corruption scandal, did not run for re-election, and the Republican who did had a long record of public service but an unfortunate last name: Ryan. Mr. Blagojevich focused his campaign on pledges of reform and clean government, and won. Once in office, even amid accusations of campaign donations being exchanged for state jobs, Mr. Blagojevich continued to promote himself as a lonely fighter against the gargantuan pressures of lobbyists and lawmakers — pressing for tougher ethics laws, appointing inspectors general and sending state employees to “ethics training.” Before the cameras, Mr. Blagojevich was a cheery presence — the No. 1 Cubs fan, an Elvis buff, an avid runner who jogged through the annual twilight parade before the State Fair, darting back and forth to shake as many hands as he could find. Behind the scenes, though, members of Mr. Blagojevich’s staff saw a different man: one who was deeply concerned about his appearance (particularly his signature black hair, which he ignored suggestions to change) and who usually worked from his home or his North Side campaign office and could often be seen, mid- or late-morning, making a six-mile run trailed by his security team. “God forbid you make a mistake,” said one longtime former employee. In December 2003, the employee recalled, Mr. Blagojevich flew into a rage because he thought he was late for a holiday tree-lighting ceremony in Springfield, and his two young daughters — who were visiting with Santa Claus in the parlor of the Governor’s Mansion — did not have their shoes on yet. “You’re trying to sabotage my career!” the employee recalled Mr. Blagojevich screaming at staff members, as he charged into the parlor. “You’re the worst!” At Christmastime in 2004, a nasty spat cropped up between Mr. Blagojevich and Mr. Mell and the fallout stretched well beyond the family, offering some of the clearest public hints of Mr. Blagojevich’s coming troubles. Mr. Blagojevich shut down a landfill operated by a relative of Mr. Mell, saying it was taking types of waste it was not licensed to accept. Mr. Mell accused Mr. Blagojevich of shutting the facility as a personal vendetta against him, and then accused his top fund-raiser of trading appointments to state commissions and boards for campaign donations, just the image Mr. Blagojevich had been trying to avoid. Though Mr. Mell (who is said to still be estranged from the Blagojevich family) later recanted his comments, state officials said they were investigating, and, in 2006, a letter between federal and state prosecutors became public, revealing that Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the federal prosecutor, was already investigating claims of “endemic hiring fraud” in the Blagojevich administration. Mr. Blagojevich said that he welcomed “each and every agency” that was seeking the truth. But, with the passing months, lawmakers and other colleagues said the pressure of the investigation seemed to weigh on the governor. Knowledge of the investigation was widespread when Mr. Blagojevich ran for re-election in 2006, and he still won 50 percent of the vote. Some political experts thought Judy Baar Topinka, then the Republican state treasurer, was weak opposition to Mr. Blagojevich’s one-on-one charm. And Mr. Blagojevich spent $27 million, nearly three times what Ms. Topinka spent. “We couldn’t compete on the money angle of it, and maybe now we know why,” Ms. Topinka said last week, adding that she had long been told by lobbyists that they had to “drop a $10,000 entry fee” to work with Mr. Blagojevich. “Anything that didn’t move was sold,” she asserted. Still, as time went on, colleagues said fund-raising seemed to grow increasingly difficult even for Mr. Blagojevich, who had always been seen as a master at it. Legal bills, meanwhile, began to mount: his campaign records show he had paid more than $1 million to a law firm, Winston and Strawn (which no longer represents him), and a report as of June 30 this year revealed that the campaign owed $750,000 more to the firm. Other politicians began to avoid public appearances with him and speaking invitations dropped. Mr. Blagojevich, who had once seemed to bask in news coverage, found himself answering questions about the corruption investigations at nearly every event. After his arrest on Tuesday, Mr. Blagojevich met with almost no one, other than lawyers and ministers. Not long after his spat with his father-in-law was made public in early 2005, setting off more corruption investigations, Mr. Blagojevich reflected on his work, and said it had changed him in a way. “What I’ve discovered since I’ve been governor is that there’s a certain loneliness to this job,” he said in an interview. “There’s a loneliness and a certain sadness because you have to isolate yourself to some extent. There are so many people who want so many different things from you.” Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company |
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12-15-2008, 11:47 PM
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As you probably know and it is again repeated here, Illinois Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan, and Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, are related: he is the father and she the daughter. Both Madigans are Democrats, like Illinois Governor "Hot Rod" Blagojevich, but are in every other respect opponents to this man. We need not add that the Madigans are close, but of the two, Michael Madigan is by far the most formidable.
It surprised no one familiar with Illinois politics that these two were out front, day one, in trying to nail "Hot Rod" or "Blago" when events unfolded - party be damned.   Illinois House Speaker announces creation of impeachment committee  (Morry Gash/AP) Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich leaves a downtown office building Sunday in Chicago. By Kevin McDermott POST-DISPATCH SPRINGFIELD BUREAU 12/15/2008 UPDATED 1:40 P.M. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois lawmakers will begin impeachment proceedings against embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday, one week after the Democratic chief executive was arrested on corruption charges. Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan today said he is appointing a committee to examine evidence of what he called, generally, "abuse of power" by the second-term governor. That could be the first step toward a House impeachment vote and a Senate trial. "We have given the governor six days to resign . . . he’s declined to take the opportunity," Madigan told reporters in the Statehouse today. Madigan, who has been silent until now on growing calls for impeachment action, called his decision "reflective of the desires of probably a majority of people in the (Illinois) House and probably of majority of people in the state." Blagojevich, 52, was arrested Tuesday in Chicago on corruption charges, including the allegation that he attempted to sell to the highest bidder his power to appoint someone to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama. He remains free on a recognizance bond, and has refused widespread calls from top Democrats, including Obama himself, that he resign. Madigan, a Democrat, said he will convene a committee of 12 Democrats and nine Republicans to call witnesses, hear testimony and consider evidence. He said committee members will be appointed later today, will meet for the first time on Tuesday, and will continue meeting each day except holidays like Christmas Eve and Christmas until the process is complete. Unlike the federal "crimes and misdemeanors" standard, there is no specific criterion that Illinois lawmakers have to meet to impeach a chief executive. Under the 1970 state constitution, the House determines by a majority vote whether there is cause for impeachment. If so, the case is tried in the Senate, which can remove the executive by a two-thirds vote. Madigan declined to specify what the charges might be. Among the committee’s topics of discussion, though, are likely to be issues that arose prior to Blagojevich’s arrest. Some lawmakers have been clamoring for Blagojevich’s ouster for as long as a year, on grounds that he has refused to work with the Legislature or to carry out basic functions of his office. "We never came to a judgment that impeachment was appropriate until the events of six days ago," Madigan said. The Legislature is returning to Springfield later today in special session to consider whether to change state law so that U.S. Senate vacancies are filled by a special election rather than being appointed by the governor. That proposal is in response to fears that Blagojevich might attempt to make that Senate appointment prior to the scheduled start of his trial in January. In addition, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, a Democrat and Speaker Madigan’s daughter, has filed a motion asking the state Supreme Court to remove Blagojevich from office under a legal provision designed to deal with chief executives who have become incapacitated. The court hasn’t yet said whether it will consider that motion. If Blagojevich resigns or is removed from office by either the high court or the Legislature, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn would become governor. Blagojevich today once again reported to work at his Chicago state office, as he has done each day since his arrest. Copyright © 2008 St. Louis Post-Dispatch L.L.C. All rights reserved. |
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12-16-2008, 02:41 AM
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12-16-2008, 05:51 PM
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12-16-2008, 06:28 PM
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12-16-2008, 09:13 PM
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Too embarrasing |
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12-16-2008, 09:18 PM
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IMHO, if Blago - aka "Hot Rod" - is eliminated, and a mini-election is judged too costly an option (both politically and/or dollarwise), expect this otherwise obscure politician, known previously as "Candidate 3," to gain that coveted inside track for being selected Senator from "The Land of Lincoln."
 Blagojevich arrest could send Jewish rep to Senate By Ron Kampeas · December 9, 2008  (Cosmic Smudge / Creative Commons) Political observers say that U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky could end up the winner after the arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich had absolute power and apparently was enjoying it. Senate Candidate 1, according to the federal complaint that led to the governor's arrest Tuesday, was close to President-elect Barack Obama, whose newly vacant U.S. Senate seat Blagojevich was constitutionally required to fill. That fed Blagojevich's hopes of extracting a Cabinet position or a high-salaried nonprofit job from Obama. Senate Candidate 4., meantime, was Blagojevich's deputy and could be counted on to protect the governor if he was eventually indicted as a result of long-running corruption investigations. Senate Candidate 2's name allegedly was leaked to the Chicago Sun Times in a bid to spook Obama after the president-elect resisted offering Blagojevich the dream job he was demanding in exchange for naming Obama's favorite, Senate Candidate 1 Senate Candidate 5 was ready, Blagojevich allegedly believed, to raise $500,000 for the governor's slush fund, and that eventually made 5 the favorite. Senate Candidate 6 was, well, rich, and that's what gave him an in. And Senate Candidate 3? She barely merits a mention in the voluminous tapped phone calls. That suits U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) fine. JTA has learned that Schakowsky, the only Jewish contender to replace Obama, is the "Senate Candidate 3" in the prosecution complaint. Sources close to Schakowsky, 64, suggested that her frustration until Monday at not being able to get a sense from Blagojevich as to her Senate prospects flowered into relief Tuesday when she discovered he was not considering her. "The governor never asked her for anything in return," said a source close to Schakowsky. "That turns out to be a good thing." That leaves Schakowsky untainted by association with one of the most stunning "pay for play" scandals in recent U.S. political history -- and may improve her chances for an appointment. "The process before was kind of, who knows what the governor is going to do?" the source said. "No one thought a rational appeal was going to work." Another Democratic insider said Blagojevich's arrest reversed the race: Schakowsky, until Monday the dark horse, is now a front-runner, and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has been tainted by his closeness to Blagojevich. "He has hurdles, Schakowsy does not," the insider said. "Her chances of becoming the next senator went up a lot." Schakowsky is known to be very close to Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who would assume the governorship -- and the power to name a replacement -- should Blagojevich leave the job as result of the scandal. That might not happen for a while, and Blagojevich's power to name the interim 2009-11 U.S. senator from Illinois is unhampered, even from his jail call. Schakowsky, who last month was elected to her sixth congressional term, immediately called for Blagojevich to step down. "I actually have called on the governor to resign, and if he does not do that, I've called on the Legislature to call a special session," she told CNN. “They can do that, to have impeachment proceedings." State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, a Democrat who was elected to that body with Schakowsky in 1990 and backs her bid to replace Obama, said it was likelier that the state Legislature would call a special statewide election within the next few days to fill the president-elect’s seat. He said Schakowsky's liberal, urban background would not harm her in a statewide election. "I've worked with her closely and observed her in action," Schoenberg said, "and she's already a formidable political figure." Schakowsky comes up once in the complaint, when Blagojevich allegedly contemplates leaking her name as his choice in a bid to extract concessions from other candidates. Other media have identified Valerie Jarrett, a longtime Obama mentor and now his senior adviser, as Senate Candidate 1; Lisa Madigan, the state's attorney general whose name Blagojevich leaked in a bid to scare concessions out of Obama, as Candidate 2; and one of Blagojevich's three deputy governors as Candidate 4. Several news outlets have used a meetings timeline to suggest that Senate Candidate 5, who according to Blagojevich's quotes in the complaint was ready to raise money for the governor, is Jackson. Senate Candidate 6, the wealthy one, is unknown. Schakowsky would be a natural pick, said Linda Sher, who founded the Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs, a pro-Israel and pro-choice group. "Jan is a wonderful, honest person, she serves her constituency, she has integrity and is hard working," Sher said, adding that the same qualities describe Jackson. Schakowsky is among the most liberal lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives, and is one of the few in the body who can claim opposition to the Iraq War from its outset. Her record is solidly pro-Israel, and she conveys a Jewish mother vibe, actively seeking out dates for her unmarried staff. She is especially close to Rahm Emanuel, who just quit his own congressional seat to become Obama's chief of staff. Both emerged from the Illinois Public Action Fund, a public interest advocacy group, in the 1980s. Schakowsky has been touched by scandal: Her husband, Robert Creamer, pleaded guilty in 2005 to fraud charges in connection with IPAC, where he served as executive director. Schakowsky had no involvement in the scandal. Sher said she has been receiving e-mails all day from friends across the country who have been struck by the depth of Illinois corruption. Blagojevich would be the second consecutive governor to go to jail if he is convicted, and the fourth to be brought down by scandal in 30 years. "It's not all bad," she said. "I'm answering, 'we gave you Obama, we gave you Durbin,' " referring to U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), one of the most pro-Israel senators. © JTA. Reproduction of any material without written authorization is strictly prohibited. |
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12-16-2008, 10:49 PM
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#13 |
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December 16, 2008 Gingrich to RNC: Drop Blago video, help Obama instead Posted: 03:15 PM ET  Newt Gingrich told the RNC Tuesday that it should immediately pull down a web video featuring President-elect Obama and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. (CNN) – Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich isn’t happy with the Republican National Committee. In a letter addressed Tuesday to Mike Duncan, chairman of the RNC, Gingrich slams the committee for releasing a recent Web video that seeks to connect Obama to embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. In a nearly three-minute spot entitled “Questions Remain,” the RNC seeks to raise questions about involvement by Obama or his staff in Blagojevich’s alleged plan to award Obama’s former Senate seat in exchange for political favors. Gingrich calls the video a “destructive distraction” and asserts that the national committee “is engaged in the sort of negative, attack politics that the voters rejected in the 2006 and 2008 election cycles.” Instead, “Republicans should be working to help the incoming president succeed in meeting” the “real challenges” the nation is facing, Gingrich writes to Duncan. When Republicans believe Obama is wrong, the GOP should “offer a better solution, instead of just opposing him,” Gingrich also wrote. The letter ends with Gingrich’s suggestion that the RNC “pull the ad down immediately.” Gingrich’s letter echoes recent comments from Obama’s former rival, Sen. John McCain. In a television interview Sunday, McCain also took issue with the video. “In all due respect to the Republican National Committee,” McCain said, “right now, I think we should try to be working constructively together . . . on the economy stimulus package, reforms that are necessary.” The RNC has not responded to CNN’s request for comment. © 2008 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. |
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12-17-2008, 02:02 AM
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#14 |
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December 16, 2008 Jackson, Jr. an informant to Blago investigations Posted: 06:25 PM ET  Sources close to Rep. Jackson, Jr. told CNN Tuesday that the Illinois congressman has supplied information regarding Gov. Blagojevich to federal law enforcement officials since 2006. SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (CNN) — Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. — who was cited in a criminal complaint against Rod Blagojevich — has been an informant for at least a decade with the U.S. Attorney's office, and has informed on the embattled governor of Illinois, though not in the case currently under investigation, Jackson spokesman Kenneth Edmonds told CNN Tuesday. In addition, two sources close to Jackson told CNN that, in 2002, Blagojevich — then running for governor of Illinois — solicited a $25,000 campaign donation from Jackson, which he did not get. At the time, Jackson's wife, Sandi, was a candidate for the job of director of the state's Lottery Commission, a post she did not win, the sources said. After Blagojevich took office, in early 2003, he told Jackson something to the effect of, "You see what $25,000 would have done?" the sources said. In 2006, Jackson reported the incident, which he believed to have been an attempt at a shakedown, the sources said. The report, the sources said, came three three years later because Jackson's memory was jogged by another case — that of developer Tony Rezko, whose fraud and corruption trial included testimony about $25,000 donations to Blagojevich. Jackson did not endorse Blagojevich in his initial campaign and tried to stay on the sidelines during the governor's re-election bid, one of the sources said. Blagojevich's office did not return calls seeking comment. © 2008 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. |
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12-17-2008, 08:46 AM
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#15 |
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 DECEMBER 17, 2008 Lawmakers Reject Election for Illinois Senate Seat If Blagojevich Resigns or Is Impeached, Lieutenant Governor Will Make Appointment – Keeping the Decision in Democrats' Hands By DOUGLAS BELKIN SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - State Democrats slammed the door Tuesday on a special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, reversing earlier calls for a vote and ending a rare sense of statewide bipartisanship that followed Gov. Rod Blagojevich's arrest last week. "We need leadership from majority Democrats in the Legislature; instead, what we are getting is the same old insider political games," Deputy Republican Leader Christine Radogno said. "Frankly, after the past week, most people in Illinois are wondering how much more embarrassment the state must endure. Apparently, legislative Democrats think the state needs more embarrassment." In a news conference Tuesday, Mr. Obama backed away from his earlier call for a special election. "I'm going to let the state Legislature make a determination in terms of how they want to proceed," he said. Mr. Blagojevich, a Democrat, has the power to make the appointment, but he was arrested last week and charged with trying to sell the seat. The Legislature had been considering a bill that would strip Mr. Blagojevich of his power to fill the seat but has since dropped that bill. Now, if Mr. Blagojevich resigns or is impeached, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn will fill the seat, ensuring it remains in Democratic hands. How long impeachment proceedings will take remains unclear. The committee charged with determining whether the state House should recommend the impeachment of Mr. Blagojevich said Tuesday that the governor's attorney, Ed Genson, will appear before the group on Wednesday to answer questions.  Getty Images Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday, a day before his lawyer, Ed Genson, will appear before a state impeachment panel to answer questions. Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, chairwoman of the 21-member committee, said she will ask Mr. Genson whether the governor will resign and whether he has any response to the 76-page criminal complaint filed against him last week by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. The committee will look at years of activities, including the most recent charges. While the committee has subpoena power, members have said they will proceed cautiously so as not to foul up Mr. Fitzgerald's investigation. "There might be some witnesses we would be interested in hearing from that he'd rather we didn't," Ms. Currie said. "We don't want to undercut the federal inquiry." If impeachment proceedings drag on, legislators could still call for a special election. Separately, a spokesman for Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., named as "Senate candidate 5" in the federal affidavit filed against Gov. Blagojevich, issued a statement saying the congressman had cooperated with federal authorities in corruption matters. "Congressman Jackson has in the past provided information to federal authorities regarding his personal knowledge of perceived corruption and governmental misconduct. This was completely unrelated to the current federal investigation regarding the U.S. Senate appointment," said Jackson spokesman Kenneth Edmonds, in a statement. Mr. Jackson, son of civil-rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, assured reporters last week that he hadn't authorized anyone to approach the governor with an improper offer in exchange for the Senate seat. The politics surrounding the replacement of Mr. Obama in the U.S. Senate are unfolding as the state's financial problems worsen. Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias said Tuesday that the legal problems surrounding Mr. Blagojevich already have cost the state more than $20 million because it was forced to delay a $1.4 billion short-term bond sale Thursday and missed the chance to sell the bonds at reduced interest rates. —Amy Merrick and David Kesmodel contributed to this article. Copyright ©2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
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12-18-2008, 08:08 AM
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#16 |
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  Originally posted: December 17, 2008 Illinois Supreme Court rejects [Lisa] Madigan [Illinois AG] bid to declare Blagojevich 'unfit' Posted by Rick Pearson at 1:55 p.m. SPRINGFIELD---The Illinois Supreme Court today rejected Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan's attempt to have disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared unable to hold the office of Illinois chief executive, court officials said. The high court, without comment, denied Madigan's attempt to file a complaint with justices arguing Blagojevich's fitness to serve. The court also rejected Madigan's attempt for a temporary restraining order, aimed at preventing him from using state law to appoint a U.S. Senate replacement for President-elect Barack Obama. A criminal complaint filed against Blagojevich, which resulted in his arrest eight days ago, contended the governor was seeking to try to sell the Senate seat to benefit himself and his family. Justices, again without comment, also rejected a private petition seeking to remove Blagojevich from office for disability under the state constitution.
Madigan said she was disappointed by the court's decision. "Because of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's refusal to resign, the state of Illinois is in an unsustainable situation," Madigan said in a statement. Even though federal charges and the impeachment process are in place, Madigan said, "the state is left with a governor who cannot make effective decisions on critical and time-sensitive issues." She said she hoped the legislature will "act with deliberate speed." Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune |
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12-19-2008, 09:25 AM
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#17 |
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DECEMBER 19, 2008 State, Feds Move to Block Blagojevich Legal Funds Seat By DOUGLAS BELKIN CHICAGO – Embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich's money problems appeared to worsen Thursday, as the state attorney general denied a request from his lawyer asking the state to pick up his impeachment-defense costs and the U.S. attorney moved to freeze his campaign funds. Prosecutors are charging that the war chest "comes from fraudulent or criminal activity," said Michael D. Ettinger, the lawyer for Mr. Blagojevich's brother, Robert, who is chairman of the campaign fund and who received a letter from the U.S. attorney on Wednesday. Mr. Ettinger said if the governor is indicted attorneys will ask the court to free up enough money from the $3.6 million of campaign funds to pay for the defense. "There are a lot of questions as to whether we can use the funds to pay for the defense," Mr. Ettinger said. In a U.S. criminal complaint filed last week, Mr. Blagojevich is quoted in federal wiretaps repeatedly complaining about the state of his finances. He was arrested and charged, among other things, with attempting to win a high-paying job or other compensation for the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. In a letter to the attorney general sent Tuesday, attorney Edward Genson asked to be appointed Mr. Blagojevich's counsel. He argued that the state is "charged with a duty to defend all actions and proceedings against any State officer." He also asserted that, since Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed to have Mr. Blagojevich removed from office, she faces a conflict of interest. In effect, he was asking the state to pay Mr. Blagojevich's legal bills. Ms. Madigan responded in a letter Thursday, saying that would only occur when the officer is in need of legal defense in his official capacity. "That is not the case in a criminal suit, which is a proceeding against a person as an individual," Ms. Madigan wrote. "It is absurd to suggest that taxpayers must finance the defense of a criminal action against Governor Blagojevich who is accused of corruptly betraying the public trust for personal and financial gain." A spokesman for the U.S. attorney declined to comment about the office's intention to seize Mr. Blagojevich's campaign funds. Mr. Blagojevich's salary as governor is about $177,000. He has unpaid legal bills of at least $500,000 from the firm Winston & Strawn LLP, according to an attorney at the firm. The firm represented him during the years-long federal probe that culminated in his arrest but dropped him as a client over the bills. Last Friday, Ms. Madigan petitioned the Illinois Supreme Court to temporarily remove Mr. Blagojevich on the grounds that he was temporarily disabled and unable to perform his duties as governor. The court rejected that argument without comment on Wednesday. Impeachment proceedings against the governor began Monday and continued Thursday in Springfield with Mr. Genson frequently objecting to procedures and to evidence being presented against the governor. — Lauren Etter contributed to this article. Copyright ©2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
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12-22-2008, 04:34 PM
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#18 |
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 Obama to absolve Emanuel in gov. scandal By MIKE ALLEN 12/21/08 10:57 AM EST  Photo: AP President-elect Barack Obama’s aides plan to release a report this week absolving incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel of any impropriety in his contacts with the disgraced Illinois governor’s office, Democratic sources tell Politico. The report is expected Monday or Tuesday. Obama said last week that he was delaying it until this week at the request of federal prosecutors. The complaint against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose conversations had been secretly taped by federal investigators, tested the smoothly running Obama transition, with some Democrats fretting that the case presents a distraction that could last into the new administration. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, host of “This Week,” said during the roundtable on his program Sunday that the Obama legal team's review of contacts with Blagojevich found that Emanuel had only one phone conversation with the governor, and it was a “pro forma” conversation. “I have been briefed on the review that Obama has done,” Stephanopoulos said. “The sources I talked to say that what it will show is there were actually far less contacts than we had heard – that Rahm Emanuel only had one phone call with Governor Blagojevich. It wasn’t even really about the Senate seat.” Stephanopoulos elaborated in a blog posting: “Most of the discussion concerned Emanuel's Congressional seat (which had previously been held by Blagojevich), with only a ‘passing reference’ to the Senate vacancy, according to these sources. No deal for the Senate vacancy was discussed. … “[T]he report will show Emanuel also had four phone calls with Blagojevich Chief of Staff John Harris. During those conversations, the Senate seat was discussed. The pros and cons of various candidates were reviewed, and the sources say that Emanuel repeatedly reminded Harris that Blagojevich should focus on the message the pick would send about the governor and his administration. Sources also confirm that Emanuel made the case for picking Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett during at least one of the conversations. In the course of that conversation, Harris asked if in return for picking Jarrett, 'all we get is appreciation, right?' 'Right,' Emanuel responded.” Stephanopoulos said on “This Week”: “According to these sources, absolutely no deals.” ABC’s Cokie Roberts added: “It would be political malpractice if somebody from the Obama had not talked to the governor.” © 2008 Capitol News Company LLC |
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12-22-2008, 05:30 PM
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#19 |
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Looking over this entire fiasco, you'd thing that Blagojevich (or any politician in this much trouble) would have something to bargain with, anything to keep him out of jail, and was just maneuvering to cut a deal.
But there doesn't seem to be anything, unless the plan is to make everyone so sick of seeing his stupid face on TV, that a plea goes out, "Just get the hell out of here, and we'll forget you ever existed." Pissing people off just gets a bigger book thrown at you. How did this idiot ever get elected? |
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12-22-2008, 05:58 PM
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#20 |
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How did this idiot ever get elected? But one also needs to add the following. The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, was involved in both cases - Mr. Ryan before and Rod Blagojevich currrently. And the attorney for Mr. Ryan happened to be a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District - James Thompson. Mr. Thompson was the prosecutorial force that removed Governor Otto Kerner (D), many years ago, and it gave him a platform on which to become Illinois Governor, a position in which he served approximately 14 years. Illinois politics is corrupt on both the Republican and Democratic sides - a point often obscured in national discussions which seek to reduce it all to just machine politics in Chicago. |
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